{Elira}
~**^**~
"Let remind you of sothing, Oga," Kaelis said. "People like you... don’t belong in places like this."
"Know your place," Soraya added dryly. "Because next ti, you might not walk out of this room so calmly."
Thorne chuckled. "Or at all."
A few more laughs followed, the cruel kind, but I stayed still. If they expected to break, they’d be disappointed.
Just then, Caleb Fenmore pushed himself up from the plush white couch and strolled over to where I stood, hands in his pockets, a lazy smile playing on his lips.
"You know," he said, voice dipped in warm charm, "I quite like a girl who knows how to walk into a fire and pretend it’s a breeze."
He circled slowly, not threatening, just amused—before leaning in, close enough for to catch the scent of cedar and spice.
"I’d say you’ve got guts, Elira," he murmured. "A sha they are wasted on soone who doesn’t know how to use them."
I blinked at him.
He smiled wider. "But don’t worry. I’m always happy to... ntor people who need guidance."
I turned my head slightly away from him, feeling my stomach tighten in discomfort. Not because of him, exactly — but because of how easy he made the mockery sound like a complint.
"Enough, Caleb," Kaelis drawled. "We are not here to entertain her."
He winked. "Just trying to keep things interesting."
And just like that, I was dismissed.
"You may go," Kaelis said coldly.
I gave the room one last glance — and I didn’t care how stiff my steps were as I turned and left, keeping my head high.
I mustn’t let them see how easily their words and actions got to .
But the second I stepped into the hallway and the door clicked shut behind , rage surged through like a wildfire.
My hands clenched. My face burned.
How dare they.
Every single one of them—mocking, judging, threatening like I was so intruder in a world they ruled.
I was still fuming, my thoughts swirling, when I heard my na from that familiar, unbridled, wicked tongue.
"Elira."
I turned and saw Regina walking toward with slow, confident steps, her expression unreadable.
"You looked so pathetic in there," she said with a small, cruel smirk. "It’s almost impressive."
I tilted my head and smiled faintly, but there was no warmth in it. "It’s funny you say that... because I noticed sothing."
Regina’s smile froze.
"It seems," I said softly, almost innocently, "that your fellow council mbers don’t know we are cousins..."
Her eyes sharpened.
"...and they also don’t know you are not engaged to Professor Zenon."
Her mouth opened slightly.
"...and that Professor Zenon is my mate."
The effect was imdiate.
"Shut up!" she hissed with a sharp voice as her eyes grew wide from shock.
I scoffed, stepping forward until there was barely a breath between us.
"Why, Regina? Are you so afraid of the truth coming out that you can’t even hear it whispered?"
She trembled, her fists clenched tightly. "How dare you talk to like that—how dare you, lowlife, threaten —"
But I wasn’t done yet.
I leaned closer, my voice a notch lower. "I’m only saying what’s real. But if you touch again... if you ever try to harm ... I won’t keep your little secrets anymore."
Then she scread and raised her hand — fast. But I was faster, catching her wrist mid-air.
The air between us thickened, and I could hear it — her furious, rattling heartbeat.
"Don’t," I said. My voice didn’t tremble, even though my insides were on fire. "Try that again, and I will walk right back in there and tell them everything."
Her eyes widened is disbelief. She probably couldn’t believe that a mont like now would ever happen.
Then, I flung her hand away, eting her gaze with one last stare that felt like a line being drawn in the dirt between us.
Then I turned and walked away — my knees trembling slightly, my breath uneven, but my face?
I made sure it was calm and composed. Because for the first ti, I had stood up to wicked cousin and torntor.
And I didn’t regret it, at least not yet.
---
My hands still trembled as I reached my locker. I forced them to move, to twist the dial, to unlock the door.
I reached in and grabbed my backpack, my phone, and the two gift bags Lennon and Rennon had given earlier this morning.
Then I slamd the locker shut and turned toward the dorm. My thoughts chased themselves the whole walk.
Had I gone too far with Regina?
Would she retaliate?
Would the Student Council co after for real this ti?
But under all that panic, sothing else blood in my chest: A quiet kind of power.
And honestly, I wished I could face all my bullies every ti—this sa way.
---
The hallway outside our dorm was quiet when I arrived, and the mont I stepped inside, the warm noise of familiarity hit like a soft breeze.
"Elira!"
Three voices chorused at once.
Before I could even fully close the door, Cambria wrapped her arms around in a hug — tight and grounding.
"You’re back!" she said, her voice muffled against my shoulder. "And in one piece. Thank the moon."
I let out a shaky laugh and hugged her back. The tension in my chest cracked a little.
Juniper stood with her arms crossed, watching closely. Nari lounged sideways on her bed, a mischievous grin on her lips, and Tamryn sat near the window, sipping sothing warm from her mug.
"So?" Nari asked, lifting a brow. "What happened? Are you cursed now or sothing?"
I blinked, letting out a tired laugh. "Not cursed. Not yet."
"Then why did they summon you again?" Cambria asked, pulling away just enough to study my face. "What did they want?"
I hesitated for a mont, glancing at the familiar comfort of our room, and then I told them.
Most of it.
I told them how the Student Council called in just to mock . How they insulted , one by one, like I wasn’t even in the room. Like I wasn’t a real person.
I told them about Kaelis’s fake-sweet cruelty, about Soraya’s cold words, about the laughter and the threats.
I told them about Caleb Fenmore too — the way he flirted while throwing in jabs like roses with thorns.
But I left out the parts about Professor Zenon.
And I definitely left out the part about Regina being my cousin. Or the way I’d just blackmailed her outside that door.
So things were still too ssy to explain.
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